The Pain of Memories
by RoseDot
Summary: A mysterious dream mage takes control of Lucy's mind. Who can save her from what's in her mind? Who can save her from her greatest enemy yet, herself? Rated T for minor violence and some language. NaLu Natsu X Lucy
1. Chapter 1

What do you do when you think you are in love with your best friend? So many people have said Natsu and I like each other, or we would make a cute couple. Even Happy thinks so! But I don't know how I feel. I know I blush a lot when we talk, and sometimes there are butterflies in my stomach and we're together, but I don't know what true love feels like. I've never had a serious boyfriend before, never been on a date. How would I know anything about that kind of stuff?

Hi! I'm a celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia, a member of the greatest guild Fairy Tail. I'm also a part of team Natsu, the strongest team in Fairy Tail (if I do say so myself). Along with Erza, Gray, Happy, and, of course, Natsu, we work together to help people in need with our abilities. Over the months that I've been here, I've recently started feeling different when I'm around Natsu. Mirajane giggles every time I bring it up and mimics Happy. "You llllllllllliiike him."

But do I?

"LUCY!" Natsu yelled from across the guild hall now. I sighed and turned away from the counter towards his voice. "I FOUND A JOB FOR US!" he screeched, running towards me. Gray stepped into his path at the last second, causing them to bonk heads and fall onto their butts.

"What was that for, squinty eyes?" Gray hissed. Natsu hooped back up and slammed his head against Gray's.

"Why'd you get in my way, droopy eyes?" Natsu steamed.

"Cut it out," Erza said, shoving them away from each other. I sighed again and laid my head on the counter. Typical Fairy Tail. "And about that job, it will just have to be you and Lucy. Gray and I are needed here."

My heart fluttered a little, and then settled back down. "Fine by me! Now I don't have to hang around with the Ice Princess for a while!" Natsu laughed. Before Gray could punch him, Natsu ran towards me and shoved the flier into my hands.

"Mystery Mage is giving us Nightmares, Please Help. And the reward is 100,000 Jewel each!" I read. _Just enough for this month's rent!_ I squealed in my mind. "Let me pack and we can head out! Let's hurry!" I said, speeding back to my house. A half hour later and we were off to….

I mentally kicked myself. I was so excited to be able to pay my month's rent that I didn't notice what town we were going to. Acalypha. The place where my father is living. I kept quiet most of the walk there. Natsu looked over at me a few times, and Happy tried to break the mood, but it didn't help me. Eventually, Natsu and Happy started blathering on to each other about something that happened the other day, realizing that they couldn't cheer me up. Neither of them realized that my foul mood was caused by the town we were now standing outside of.

"Hello, sir, we're here from-" I started, but immediately bit my tongue. The man that opened the door to the place we were told to meet was none other than my father himself. I jerked my gaze away and stared at the ground. My heart plummeted. Of course.

"We're here from Fairy Tail to get rid of that evil guy!" Natsu finished after glancing at me.

"Ah, I'd hoped Fairy Tail would be the one to take this job. It's good to see you, Lucy," my father said. I did not reply. Natsu stared at me again.

"Who's this guy we're looking for?" I sighed, looking up at my dad. He'd cut his hair and shaved his beard, and for a second, the only thing I could see was the man that was so cruel to me my entire childhood. I gasped. _No,_ I scolded myself. _He said he changed. But, can anyone really change that much?_

He stared at me a moment longer before ushering us inside his home. "We don't exactly know," he admitted, shutting the door behind us.

"Then how are we supposed to find him?" I snapped. Natsu looked shocked.

"Lucy," he whispered. Happy looked at me worriedly.

"He only appears at night. When I said he gives us nightmares, I meant it literally. He plagues our dreams with haunting images and sounds. Half of the town has been too shaken up to work properly.

"He dresses in all black and floats in through our front gates at midnight. We've tried barricading it, but he bursts right through. We've tried staying up all night, but he made us fall asleep. If you look into his eyes, it's over for you. He will sense your deepest fears and turn them into a nightmare."

"He'll be easy, no problem at all!" Natsu grinned, giving a thumbs up. I stood up from the couch we were sitting on and headed for the door.

"We'll be back tomorrow, after the job is done," I said curtly.

"Lucy…." My father started. I ignored him and walked out the door, Natsu following behind me.

"Lucy, what is going on? Do you know that guy?" he asked. He didn't realize that the man that was now standing in the doorway, staring after me sadly, was my dad.

"It's nothing, promise!" I forced a smile. Natsu didn't look convinced. "Let's just go to a hotel and sleep until tonight, we don't want to be tired."

* * *

Natsu snored loudly across the room from me. Happy slept on the pillow beside his head. I was laying on my side, staring out the window at the slowly setting sun. Why did it have to be this town, of all places? Why my dad, of all people? Right now, I'd rather be anywhere else than here. The only thing I can think of when I look at that man is a monster. He's the one that ruined my childhood. He's claimed to have changed, but that can't change what he did to me in the past. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. Let's just get this job done and get out.

* * *

"You pesky little girl," Umidjon purred. I panted. Natsu was lying on the ground a few feet away. I had to protect him. Having used all the magical power I could, I pulled out my whip slowly. I was so tired. So….tired….. "Oh, you poor girl. Sleepy, are you? Look into my eyes, and you can rest," he murmured. I stubbornly shook my head. "Ah, and I hoped I could have ended this peacefully," he sighed.

I flicked my wrist towards the spot he had been standing in a split second before. There was a tap on my shoulder behind me, and I spun, keeping my eyes on the ground.

"Look UP, darling," he cooed. "Tell me how exhausted you are. Let me take care of you," he whispered. Maybe….

"Your father was lying, my precious. I don't give people nightmares, I only let them sleep peacefully, the way they deserve to." He kept moving so quickly, I couldn't keep up. Would giving in be so terrible? Maybe he's telling the truth.

"Yesss, believe meeee," he hissed. My dad lied. This man is good; he's the bad one. He tricked me. My movements slowed even further. Umidjon pushed me backwards so that I was laying on the ground. He stood above me and stared into my eyes. Such a pretty purple color….

"Loke," I whispered. "Please help me." I was being sucked into his beautiful eyes. I couldn't stop myself. "Nat…su…"


	2. Chapter 2

Darkness surrounded me. Where was I? What happened?

"Layla Heartfilia was a beloved wife and mother. There was no woman better than her. We are deeply sorrowed to see her go, although we know her heart is in a better place…" the pastor continued. I stood under the umbrella someone held above me. Tears soaked my face, and the slanting rain soaked my shoes. After everyone left, I stood alone at my mother's grave. My heart shattered. _Mommy,_ I thought. _Why'd you leave me?_ Who was going to do my hair in the mornings? Who was going to spend the day with me while daddy worked? Who was going to play dress up with me?

**_"It's your fault she died,"_**a voice in my head said. **_"She got tired of being around you, so she died."_** _My fault,_ I though over and over again. _Mommy died because of me…._

* * *

"Daddy, I made you a rice ball! It has your face on it!" I exclaimed. Today was my birthday, and I thought maybe if I could remind him then he would stop working for a little while and play with me.

"I'm busy right now. Leave," he muttered, not taking his eyes off the computer in front of him.

"Ok, I'll just leave it right here then. Eat it when you get hungry, ok?" I said, placing the little ball on his desk. "I don't know if you remember, but today is-"

"Did I not tell you I was busy?" he yelled. "I told you to go away! And don't make food, that's what the servants are for!" He swung his arm, knocking the rice ball onto the floor.

"I'm sorry," I cried. I gathered the ball in my tiny fingers and ran from the room, wiping the tears on the back of my hand.

**_"He hates you. He hates you, and so does everyone else. Nobody likes you. They never have, and they never will." _**I ran past that maids and servants as they tried to reach out to me. They were a bunch of liars. None of them actually liked me. They were only here because Daddy paid them to be.

* * *

**_"You're running away from home because you are a coward. You know nobody likes you, and you are trying to save yourself. You are a selfish little brat that will never do anything useful in your life."_**

* * *

**_"He only invited you to join the guild because he feels sorry for you. He knows you are a worthless Celestial mage and that you'll probably be killed soon anyway, so he thought there was no harm in it."_**

* * *

**_"Levy only pretends to be your friend. You have no one else, so she feels bad. You are her charity case, nothing more, nothing less._**

* * *

**_"The entire fight was your fault. You are the reason the guild was destroyed. Levy being hurt was because of you. If you hadn't joined Fairy Tail, everyone would be happier right now._**

* * *

I jolted up in my bed, sweat dripping down my face. Thank goodness, it was all just a really bad dream that's finally over. As soon as my heart slowed down, I got out of bed and dressed in my usual attire. Today was going to be a good day! I skipped through town to the guild. I froze the second I opened the door. Natsu sat in the middle of the hall with Lisanna, kissing her. Mirajane and Erza noticed me and started pointing, laughing their asses off. Soon, everybody guffawed at me. Natsu broke away from Lisanna for a second and yelled, "Lucy! Why don't you just go home?! Nobody here likes you!" My knees trembled, knocking together. My bangs hid my eyes from everyone in the room.

"I hate you most of all!" he called, and returned to Lisanna. I turned tail and fled back to my apartment. My heart broke into a thousand tiny, unfixable pieces. Those words would forever haunt me. Just when I found somebody that I really liked, he had to go and do this. He had to shatter my heart, just like my father did…..

* * *

All of my spirits gathered around me.

"I hate you! –ebi" Cancer said.

"Call on me again, and I'll help kill you. You don't deserve to own my key," Aquarius said.

"You are a terrible owner. Moshimoshi," Sagittarius added.

I was assaulted from all sides by every spirit I have a contract with.

"Loke!" I called in relief when I saw him step through the crowd of other spirits. He came to help me! He would stop everyone else! He promised he would always save me!

He was the one that hurt me the most.

"Get away from here. We all hate you," he said, shoving me back a step. I finally let the tears slide down my face. Everyone gathered around me in a circle. "Attack," Loke said calmly.

Aquarius whipped me with water. Cancer clipped every area of bare skin with his razor edged scissors. Sagittarius shot arrows into my arms and legs. Gemini morphed into Natsu and burned me. That laughed as they tortured me, slowly killing me. Loke was the last one to come. With his glowing fist, he punched me straight in my heart. More pain than I had ever felt filled my body. It was worse than breaking every bone in my body, tenfold. Nothing could compare. The spirits laughed as I screamed in agony…

* * *

Natsu's PoV

I jumped out of my chair when Lucy suddenly screamed bloody murder. She thrashed around in her bed, crying and screaming loud enough for half the world to hear. Erza charged in with a sword in her hand, ready to attack whoever was hurting her best friend. Gramps ran after her, with Levy and Wendy behind him. Gray entered and slammed the door behind him, keeping the rest of the guild out of the room.

"What happened?" Erza yelled, searching the room.

"She just started screaming! I didn't do anything!" I cried helplessly. Wendy walked up and laid her hands gently on Lucy, one on her heart and the other over her eyes. The room lit up for a moment, and then the screaming cut off. Loke appeared out of nowhere right beside her and cringed.

"She should be ok now," Wendy whispered, sitting in the chair beside the door.

"Damn!" Gray screamed, punching the wall. "Why can't we do anything to fix this?"

Happy floated over towards Levy with tears in his eyes. I rested my head on the edge of her bed and shut my eyes. Why did this have to happen to her? After she was knocked out in the fight against Umidjon, I was able to get up and fight some more. But it was mostly Loke that defeated him, using his light punch or whatever the hell it was. I carried her back to the guild immediately after and got help. She's been in here, sleeping, for the past day and a half.

"Oh, Lucy," Erza whispered. Gramps jumped onto the bed and kissed her forehead lightly.

"Princess, please wake up soon," Loke said, squeezing her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

-In the Guild-

"Attention, everyone!" Gramps called from the top floor. What little chatter there was ceased. "As you all know, Lucy is still asleep. We expect her to wake up soon, but when she does she may be in serious mental pain. So I want all of you to be very careful around her, as we don't know what she could possibly be dreaming of. All we know is that Umidjon, the mage that cast this evil on her, invades the person's deepest memories and changes them, twisting the events to cause the person the most pain."

Everyone stared towards the medical room door helplessly. My heart throbbed at the pain she must be suffering through right now.

"This is all my fault," Mirajane cried. She covered her face with her hands and wept. "If I hadn't gotten Erza and Gray to stay behind, then they would have been there to help protect Lucy!"

"Wait, why did you make them stay?" I asked.

"I was trying to let you and Lucy be alone. I hoped she would confess how she feels and you two would come back a couple!" She slapped her hands over her mouth. "And now I just gave away her secret! I am such a terrible person!" Elfman walked over and hugged his sister.

"It's not your fault. If it's anyone's, it's mine. I should never have agreed to stay behind. I should have gone with you!" Erza yelled, slamming her head onto the table.

"I should have insisted on going," Gray yelled, punching another wall.

"Trying to take the blame will bring us nothing but sorrow," Gramps said. "It was no one's fault, and we should not try to take the blame for what was merely an accident. All we can do is try to help Lucy recover."

I stood up suddenly and walked out of the guild, slamming the doors behind me. I couldn't deal with any of this. They all complained so much. Lucy getting hurt was my fault. I should have protected her better. I should have made her stay back at the hotel. She was already acting weird when we got there! Of course I didn't realize that man was her father until Erza told me that he lived in Acalypha and asked if we saw him. I am so stupid!

What Mira said still rang in my ears, though. _'I hoped she would confess how she feels and you two would come back a couple.' _Does that mean that Lucy feels the same way about me? For so long now, I've had a crush on her. That's why it hurts even more that I'm the reason she's suffering right now. I don't know when I realized that I liked her, just that I did. Lisanna has only been a friend to me, even all those years ago when Happy first hatched. The only love I've ever felt for her was the love a brother feels for his little sister.

I roared in pain and frustration. Why did any of this have to be happening?

"Natsu," someone said in front of me. I looked up to see Loke, the only of Lucy's spirits that could pass through the gate without being summoned with his key.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Lucy woke up," he simply stated. That was all it took for me to turn around and race back to the guild.

* * *

Back to Lucy's PoV

I stared straight up at the ceiling. Everyone that could fit in the medical room was in here, crowded around my bed. They were all talking at once, asking me how I felt, or what I dreamed about, or if I needed anything. I sighed and shook my head no to everything. All I wanted right now was for all these people to stop trying to make me feel better and get away from me, like I know they are dying to do. They're only talking to me because they feel bad for me. There is no other explanation. Nobody likes me. I've never had a true friend in my life.

"Watch out!" someone yelled from the back of the crowd, shoving his way through. Natsu came to the front and plopped onto the side of my bed, where he hugged me.

Natsu. Hugged. Me.

I would have died and gone to heaven, if I hadn't known that he was only doing this because he felt sorry for me. There was no other reason he would ever act like this. Happy flew around in happy circles over us, cheering. I didn't move as Erza cleared out the room, forcing everyone back. She claimed that it was too much for me to handle. Eventually, it was only her, Natsu, Gray and Happy still inside. Natsu sat up and played around with Happy. They were both so excited that they had their worthless teammate back. When would they stop pretending?

"Are you ok?" Erza asked. She sat on the chair beside my bed with Gray.

"Stop pretending," I whispered hoarsely.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked. Natsu and Happy stopped playing and looked at me.

"STOP PRETENDING THAT YOU LIKE ME!" I screamed in agony. The voice in the back of my head coaxed me on.

**_"That's right," _**it said. **_"They are only pretending to be happy. In reality, they would have been happier if you never woke up."_**

****My emotions were numb, as was the rest of my body. Do you know how it feels to know that not one person in the entire world likes you? Even my spirits, who I loved dearly, secretly hated me!

Everyone in the room was silent. Loke appeared in the corner of the room and slouched against the wall.

"Haha, good joke Luce!" Natsu attempted to joke. Erza's stern gaze cut him off.

"Lucy? What do you mean?" she asked gently. "We're your friends, and we love you."

I thrashed around in my bed. The turmoil inside my head was killing me. What Erza said made a tiny light in the darkest corner of my mind flicker on. Friends….I had friends…..They loved me….

**_"No they don't. It's only an act."_**

****I shook my head. What was the truth? The people in the room stared at me worriedly. There was nothing they could do to try to help me. Friends? Someone knocked on the door and came in. Lisanna stood in the doorway.

"I just came to-," she started. It was all the fuel the voice in the back of my head needed.

"**_She came to get Natsu. You thought she would check on you? Why? Nobody likes you, least of all her. She thinks you're trying to steal Natsu away from her. She hates you, just like everybody else in this room."_**

****"Not….true…." I whimpered. "Erza… and Gray…. And Natsu and Happy…. They're….. Friends…."

**_"Do not fool yourself. Erza lied, obviously. They hate you just as much as your mother and father do."_**

****"Stop," I whispered. My head jerked from side to side. Erza barked for Lisanna to leave, and she hurriedly did so. Loke rushed to my side and put his hands on either side of me face. A glowing light flowed from his fingertips.

"We love you," he whispered over and over. Natsu and the others stared in wonder. The light in the back of my head grew a little. Loke… He liked me….

**_"But the rest of the spirits hate you."_**

Loke let go and stepped back. Natsu came and sat on my legs to keep me from kicking somebody.

"Get…." I choked. The corners of my vision started fading. "Get out…"

Erza gripped my hand tightly. Gray went around to the opposite side and held my other hand. Happy sat on my chest and cried.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I shrieked. My back arched over the bed, and I collapsed. I let sleep overtake me. "Get out of my head."


	4. Chapter 4

Gray's PoV

My best friend collapsed onto the bed after screaming loud enough to burst my eardrums. Natsu roared in anger, Happy cried, Loke looked like he was being tortured, and Erza looked helpless. My heart beat slower than usual. How could this happen? And who was in her head that was feeding these thoughts to her?

"DAMMIT!" I yelled, frustrated beyond belief.

"Why did she have to go and try to fight him?" Natsu asked himself.

"Because she was trying to protect you," Loke said. Natsu's face scrunched up in pain. "And can you guess why?"

Natsu looked shocked for a second until realization dawned on him. That guy was even denser than I thought. It's pretty obvious that Lucy likes him. It's pretty obvious that he likes her. Why couldn't he have realized it sooner?

Lucy's teeth started chattering, so he climber further up the bed and sat beside her, laying his arm over her shoulder. A second later, Lucy was snuggled into Natsu's side.

"There's nothing we can do now but try to convince her that we are her friends and try to fix the damage Umidjon created," I said.

Natsu and I took turns for the rest of the day heating her up when she got cold and cooling her down when she got hot. Right now, it was the only thing we could do. Loke went back to the spirit world to search for ways to help. Erza sat by Lucy's side all day, whispering to her how important she was and how much we need her.

* * *

Lucy's PoV Again

"Hello, darling," Umidjon purred. I shot up in my bed, startling Natsu. He turned over in his sleep, taking his arm off my stomach (his ARM WAS ON MY STOMACH!)

"I thought Loke beat you!" I gasped.

"I cannot be defeated by someone like him. No, the only one that can defeat me is you. You hold the power, but can you bear to destroy me? You know, somewhere in yourself, that I speak the truth. You understand that you are unwanted and unloved. The second you can say, with one hundred percent confidence, that I am wrong in everything I have told you, then I shall be gone forever."

"Thanks for telling me how to beat you!" I cheered. "Umidjon, you are WRONG. I have friends that like me!"

And… nothing happened. Umidjon still stood in front of me.

"I told you. Unless you truly feel it, deep in your heart, your words are meaningless. And as time goes by, every moment you are asleep is a moment when I can access your memories and twist them."

"How long could this possible go on?" I whispered to myself.

"Oh, it lasts. I don't work to defeat my opponents. I work to kill them. The sadness I bring forward is enough to drive even the strongest person mad. I have never lost."

"IS THIS SOME GAME TO YOU?" I screamed. Natsu sat up beside me.

"Lucy? What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Umidjon! He's right-," I pointed towards the wall that was occupied only a second before, but he was gone. Natsu looked at me with pity and anger in his eyes.

"It was just a dream, Luce. It's alright. He can't hurt you while I'm here," he said, pulling me back down on the bed. "It's alright. Everything is alright," he murmured.

**_"He's sick of you."_**

****I shook my head. Umidjon said he haunts his victims in their sleep, so maybe if I just stay awake, I'll be fine. I was tired, but the fear of what I might see when I close my eyes kept me up. Nothing was worth that pain, not even the warmth of Natsu spread out against my side.

Did he know I liked him? Why else would he be doing this? Does he like me back?

**_He feels guilty._**

Guilty… Yeah, that had to be it. Otherwise, he would never act like this. Natsu feels guilty because I got hurt during the fight with Umidjon…

Or maybe he's doing it because he's my friend….

The two sides of my brain battled, as I stared up at the ceiling and kept my eyes open for the remainder of the night.

As soon as I heard people out in the guild hall, I carefully untangled myself from Natsu's arms and walked outside. I was in some weird outfit that I've never seen before. Virgo probably brought it over from the spirit world.

Mirajane was the first person I saw, so I walked over to the bar and sat on the stool I always sat on.

"Lucy!" she exclaimed. Mirajane dropped the pan she was carrying and reached across the counter to hug me. "Are you alright? We were all so worried!"

"I've been better," I admitted.

**_Mirajane hates you. This is her way of saying that you should get over this already. You are putting everyone out._**

I shook my head in annoyance. This voice was getting on my nerves. Mira looked at me worriedly.

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked, picking up the platter she was holding a minute ago.

"No, thanks. I think I'm just going to go home and change, but I'll be back soon. Will you let Natsu know when he gets up?" I asked.

"Of course! But don't you think you should wait for him to wake up, so he can go with you? It might not be safe for you to be alone!"

"What's the worst that could happen?" I called over my shoulder. I was only stopped a few times on my way out the door. Most people haven't shown up yet, so it was easier to leave. Cana stopped me and gave me a small hug. She said she was glad I was up and feeling better. Jet clapped me on the back as I walked past.

**_It's an act. _**

_Shut up_, I thought to the stupid voice. These people are my friends… I think….

The walk home was relatively quiet. I called out Plue to keep me company. He called out a few times and jumped beside me as I walked. I stepped up onto the edge of the river, just like as I always did, and continued to my apartment from there.

"Please be careful, Lucy!" a man in the boat called. I waved in response. I've walked this way countless times before, and I haven't fallen in once.

I unlocked the door to my apartment and stepped in. It felt good to be home. I hummed to myself quietly as I changed out of the horrific thing from the spirit world- I needed to talk to Virgo about the things she brings for me- and took a nice, long bath. After I changed into my normal outfit, I grabbed my keys and was about to head out when I froze. Umidjon was perched on the edge of my kitchen counter, biting into an apple.

"You thought you could get rid of me by simply staying awake? Good luck with that. You will fall asleep and right at the moment you don't want to," he threatened, and then vanished into thin air.


	5. Chapter 5

This wasn't good. He's still here. I reached for the door handle and stepped through the door at the exact same second Natsu charged into my room. He fell right into me and knocked me onto the ground. I blushed as he sat on my legs.

"Lucy! Why did you leave? It's not safe!" he yelled.

"It's plenty safe," I mumbled. "And I only came back for a bath and new clothes. I told Mira to let you know I left when you woke up."

"Yeah, well, she woke me up and said that you left a few minutes ago, so I came straight over!" he said. "Don't leave me side again. I don't want anything to happen to you!"

My face turned an even darker shade of red, and his cheeks turned a little pink too. Wait, Natsu is blushing? Does that mean…?

"You llllllike each other," Happy said, floating above us.

"No we don't!" I mumbled. "And I don't like how much you're rolling your tongue!'"

Natsu stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up with him.

"Come on, let's just go back to the guild. Levy was just walking in when I left and asked how you were, so you better hurry and get to her," Natsu grumbled, looking at the ground. I smiled to myself and kept a hold on his hand.

"Well then let's go!" I said, pulling him after me. Happy flew above us, chanting some rhyme about us liking each other. Natsu looked shocked at first when I didn't release his hand, but a second later he grinned bigger than ever.

We walked back the entire way like that, and were still holding hands when we entered the guild. Mirajane noticed us and winked at me as we walked by. I dropped Natsu's hand the second I saw Levy and ran over to her.

"Lu-chan!" she yelled. I grabbed her into my arms and we hugged the life out of each other. "Are you ok? They wouldn't let me see you when you were in the medical room! And I saw you walk in holding hands with Natsu! Does that mean you told him you liked him?"

I slapped my hands over her mouth and looked around. Natsu was standing right behind me. Levy looked at me smugly and laughed as she skipped away. I stared at the ground.

"I like you too…," Natsu said, staring at the wall behind me. I looked up in surprise.

**_It's a lie. He hates you more than anything or anyone. You are too pitiful for anyone to ever fall in love with you._**

"Yo, flame brain!" Gray yelled. He stalked p behind Natsu. "I heard you let Lucy leave alone this morning. Are you an idiot, or just insanely dense?"

"What you call me, droopy eyes?"

"I called you dense, squinty eyes."

"You think I meant to let her leave, Ice Princess?"

"How did you not notice? You were lying on top of her when I left!"

"STOP!" Erza yelled, shoving them apart. "How are you feeling, Lucy?"

"I'm okay," I said. There was no point in worrying everyone. It would just make them angrier.

"Are you sure? It looks like you have bags under your eyes. Are you sleeping properly?"

Natsu ran over to me and stared at my face. "Hey, she's right!"

"I promise I'm fine. It just took a while for me to fall asleep!" I insisted, crossing my fingers behind my back.

**_They know you're lying. They hate how you lie straight to their face. They hate you._**

****"Well, if you say so! Let's hang around here so you can rest, and then we can go on a job tomorrow!" Natsu said. I nodded mutely, relieved that they believed my story. Erza stared at me a second longer before walking after Natsu to the job board.

"I'm going too," she said.

"Me, too," Gray added. Natsu groaned.

"Gray, your clothes…," I started. He looked down and shrugged. I giggled and went to find Levy. She had some explaining to do.

* * *

I stared through the back of the carriage, straight at the sun. I didn't sleep at all last night, and I felt proud that I found a way around the nightmares. Natsu was spread out across from me, looking like he was about to hurl. Erza sat beside me, and Gray sat on the floor, since Natsu took up the entire bench.

"Are you sure you're ok? You look exhausted," Erza asked.

"I'm fine!" I promised her. It was getting a little difficult to keep my eyes open, but I could manage.

The cart rolled to a bumpy stop in front of the town. It was supposed to be an easy job. All we had to do was find some weird herb in the forest that was supposed to be guarded by a mage. Simple enough. Natsu picked the easiest job he could find; probably to make sure I would be able to handle it. We haven't talked about what happened in the guild yesterday. Did he really like me?

"Let me check in with the guy who posted the job and we can head out," Erza said, walking towards a little house on the corner. We stood around quietly waiting for her return. Natsu and Happy babbled on about something or other. I kept my eyes on the sun, trying to stay awake.

* * *

This job was going to be easy, they said. We'd be done in an hour, they said. Yeah, right. Instead of only being one guy guarding the plant, like the job said, there was an entire guild. And they were angry. Natsu tried to keep them all away from me, but he was swamped with all the men crawling over him. He was flattened onto the ground. The mages weren't very strong or powerful, but there were a lot of them. More than we could have ever imagined. What was so important about this stupid plant?

"Gate of the Lion, I summon thee. Leo!" I yelled. Loke appeared in front of me.

"I'm on it, princess," Loke said. A minute later, and we were both panting. We were pressed back to back. He punched everyone that came near his side, and I whipped everyone that came near me. There were just too many of them. Nothing we could do could stop them. If I hit one somebody, they would just stand right back up.

"Cover me!" I yelled to Loke. He nodded and picked up his pace.

"Gate of the Twins, I open thee. Gemini!" I yelled. The two little blue twins appeared in front of me. "Transform into Natsu and help us!" I said desperately. A few minutes later, everyone was down. Gemini used Natsu's powers and got rid of everyone easily. I sat on the ground and panted. Having two spirits out at once had used up all of my magic. Along with not having slept in the past 48 hours, I was about to pass out. I fell forward and lay on the ground. Loke and Gemini disappeared back into the spirit world, realizing how much pain I was in. Nobody noticed me at first. Erza went to pick the plant carefully. Gray and Natsu were arguing about who had defeated more people. In the end, it was Happy that realized I hadn't said anything, and that I wasn't in the same area as them. During the battle, Loke and I had moved more into the woods to fight.

"Lucy?" Happy called. Natsu and Gray cut off their fighting and looked around for me. It took everything I had to keep my eyes opened. I didn't have the strength to use my voice.

"You fool," Loke said, picking me up. He used his own magic to pass through the gate. He carried me over to where Natsu was searching.

"Lucy!" Natsu gasped. He took me out of Loke's arms and hugged me to his chest. "What happened?"

"She called out two spirits at once," Loke explained.

"I can walk," I breathed. I didn't want to be treated like a child.

**_They feel bad for you._**

"No, you can't." Natsu said. I squirmed in his arms. Gray went to get Erza. They walked back together.

"You don't have to push yourself that hard!" Erza scolded. "Let's get back home quickly so you can rest."

Natsu put me gently back on my feet. I wobbled and almost fell immediately. Loke disappeared again.

"If you won't let me carry you, then how about this?" Natsu wrapped one arm around my waist and lifted my arm around his neck. I nodded grudgingly. We limped back to the town, where Erza delivered the plant and got the reward.

"It's getting late out. We should stay here for the night," Gray said. I tried to protest, but Erza cut me off.

"Good idea. Lucy should rest."

I sighed in defeat. I guess we're spending the night here.

* * *

I stood up and quietly walked to the door. Natsu and Gray were snoring on the floor, and Erza was sleeping in the other bed. To save money, we only rented one room at the hotel. Erza insisted that I get one of the two beds, and she took the second one herself. I tried to let one of the guys have mine, but once Erza makes a decision, there's no changing her mind.

Sneaking out of the room was simple enough. Now I just had to find somewhere to go. If I lay in a soft, warm bed at night, I will surely fall asleep. That's the last thing I need right now. Without sleeping, my magic energy won't restore easily, so I'm putting my friends in danger if we attacked again. But nothing was worth what Umidjon would do to me if I fell asleep.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" Loke sighed as I walked down the stairs. I almost tripped.

"Don't scare me like that!" I gasped, clutching my heart.

"Then tell me why you're sneaking out in the middle of the night in a town you know nothing about."

"I…I just need to go for a walk! It's really stuffy in there, so I thought it would be nice to get some fresh air!" I lied.

Loke sighed and shook his head. "Ok, princess. I don't agree with you going out by yourself, especially with how weak you are, but I'll stay quiet. Just promise me you'll get some sleep as soon as you go back inside."

"I promise." Loke vanished.

**_Stop lying. That's the reason he hates you. You lie to everyone._**

****"Shut up,'" I muttered. My feet dragged as I circled the town, once, then twice, and then three times. The sun was about to start rising when I went back to the hotel. I snuck in just as easily as I snuck out. Nobody noticed a thing.

**_They don't care about you. _**

Maybe…

* * *

1 Week Later

This was getting really damn hard. I haven't slept at all in an entire week. Don't ask me how I'm pulling it off, because I honestly have no clue. I was like a zombie. All I could do was eat and attempt conversations with people. I can tell that everybody is worried about me, but whenever they ask I always deny it. Natsu has stuck to my side like glue. He walks home with my every day and sleeps in my room every night with Happy. I have to go shopping every couple days, because he completely cleans out my fridge. Every time I go to the store, I always buy a few extra fish for the little blue cat.

My head was hurting today, so I left the guild earlier than usual. Natsu offered to come with me, but I lied and said I would probably just go home and sleep, and that he should stay here and have fun. He promised to meet me at my apartment in half an hour. I nodded and trudged home. Plue came out and walked with me. I had almost no magical power left by now. It hasn't regenerated since I haven't slept. Plue passed through the gate with his own magic. I haven't called anyone else out in the past week.

As always, I stepped onto the wall that separated the sidewalk from the river.

"Please be careful!" the fisherman called. I stumbled, but caught myself on time.

"Maybe you should get down!" he yelled again, seeing me trip.

"I'm fine, I promise!" I told him. Maybe I should….

Well, there's no point now. I was almost to my house. What would a few more feet do? I held out my arms for balance and stared straight ahead into the setting sun. The view in front of me quickly changed. Plue jumped in fear. Umidjon stood straight in front of me. The sun I was staring at earlier was replaced with his purple eyes.

"I told you I would get you when you least wanted me to," he laughed darkly. My head spun. I lost my balance and slowly fell, for the first time ever. I've walked on this wall countless times, told the fishermen that I would be fine countless times. And now, minutes after he floats away, I fall. My eyes are slowly closing. In slow motion, I leaned towards the water. Even the splash of the cold water couldn't wake me up. There wasn't time for me to catch my breath or even scream. I breathed in a lung full of water and choked. Was this going to be how I died? A second later, and my shoulder hit the bottom of the river. My cheek scratched against the sharp rubble. My eyes slowly closed as my vision blurred into nothing.

**_I told you so._**

**A/N: Super long chapter! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you like it so far!**


	6. Chapter 6

Natsu's PoV

"Lucy's been acting really weird lately," I said to Happy as we walked to her house. We've been staying there all week, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"Aye," he replied.

There was obviously something wrong with her. I don't understand why she won't tell me. Ok, maybe it would be awkward telling me about it if it's some kind of girly thing. But she hasn't talked to Erza or Levy either! I know, I've asked. I want her to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted. Maybe if I tell her how much I like her, she'll realize that she can tell me anything…

There was a big crowd gathered around in front of Lucy's apartment. I didn't think anything of it at first, until I saw Aquarius and Juvia standing in the center. I pushed my way past all the people. What I saw made my heart stop.

A soaked Lucy was lying on the ground. Juvia was using her magic to pull the water out of her lungs. I crouched beside my beautiful partner and lifted her head onto my lap.

"Lucy?" I whispered. Her face was contorted in pain, and she squirmed in my arms.

"The stupid girl fell into the water and almost died," Aquarius said, shocked. No matter how much Aquarius always got angry with Lucy, she wanted her master to live.

"Juvia was walking by, and saw a man appear in front of Lucy. After Aquarius pulled her out of the water, Juvia tried to help!" Juvia said.

"Lucy, wake up!" Happy cried. A long gash stretched from her temple to her chin.

"Juvia, will you go back to the guild and tell everyone what happened? I'm going to take Lucy home," I said. Juvia nodded and ran through the crowd back to Fairy Tail. Aquarius went back to the spirit world and the crowd around us slowly dispersed.

"Luce?" I asked, shaking her gently. "Lucy!" Her eyes shot open and she screamed a blood- curdling scream. She thrashed around on the ground in agony. There was nothing Happy or I could do but cry and hold her.

* * *

Lucy's PoV

"I," –punch- "hate," –punch- "you," –punch-. Natsu punched me in the face. He blew fire onto my arms. Happy bit my leg. The boy that I loved with all my heart was slowly killing me. Just as I thought I was going to pass out, somebody yelled my name.

"Lucy, wake up!"

"Luce?"

"Lucy!"

Natsu gave me one last fiery punch before I forced my eyes open and screamed. Natsu was leaning over me, about to punch me again, and Happy was floating above him.

"Shhh, it's ok," Natsu cooed. I shook in his arms, trying to get away from him.

"Please don't hit me, please don't hit me," I sobbed. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Lucy, I would never hit you," he whispered. He continued to hold me while I fought and sobbed. I guess, somewhere in that, I got tired and gave up. I chose to believe what he said for now, and I collapsed into him. I twisted his shirt in my fingers until my hands hurt, and I soaked his shoulder in tears. In return, Natsu stroked my hair softly , trying to calm me down.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, picking me up and carrying me into my apartment. Once up there, he got a wet washcloth and tried to clean the scrape on my cheek.

**_He's getting tired of having to take care of you._**

"I'm sorry I'm such a burden," I said hoarsely. Natsu whipped his head around to stare at me. Happy looked sad again.

"Shut up, Umidjon," Natsu said darkly.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Could Natsu know that Umidjon was still alive, and that he's the reason I fell?

"My Lucy would never say those kinds of things. She would say she was sorry for falling, and then slap me for coming in to her apartment and eating all her food. Every single night, she would huff about how me and Happy should go back to our own house, but she'd secretly love that we stayed with her. Do you know how I know all of that?" he asked.

"I shook my head with tears in my eyes.

"Because I love Lucy. Not this Lucy, the one that doubts herself and her friends, but the Lucy has always been there for me. The one that cares for everyone back at Fairy Tail. The one that would do anything to protect us. And the one that loves me back!"

I stood up and ran into his arms. What else could I do? What do you say when someone say they love you? When someone gives you hope? I forgot my dream of Natsu punching me. I know the real Natsu would never do anything like that.

"I told you so!" Happy yelled, joining our hug. "I told you you liked each other!" Natsu dropped his chin on the top of my head.

"I love you Lucy," he whispered.

"I love you too."

* * *

"If your dreams are that scary, then dream about me. If we dream about each other, then nothing bad can go wrong."

* * *

"Umidjon is still alive. He haunts my dreams, which is why I've looked and acted so tired lately. I thought, maybe if I don't sleep, he can't hurt me. But he actually only hurt me more by making me fall into the river. Loke thought he defeated him, but nobody but me can actually beat him. To do that, I have to say with one hundred percent confidence that he is wrong," I explained to the crowd of mages around me. Everyone of Fairy Tail broke out in worried chatter.

"Then why don't you just say it?" Droy asked.

"I'm really sad and embarrassed to admit this, but I guess there's somewhere in my heart that thinks he's telling the truth. That I am unwanted and unloved. I know it's not true, but I don't know how I can convince myself."

Everyone was silent for a minute. Nobody knew what to say.

"Then we're just going to have to help!" Erza said. "We will convince you that we all love you. Every single one of us thinks of you as a sister, daughter, or friend."

"I promise, you won't ever doubt us again!" Mira promised with a warm smile.

"Thank you guys," I said, from the bottom of my heart. Maybe this would be as impossible as I thought.

**Updating twice a day now! Every day starting today, two new chapter will be up by 9 PM. (I'm going on times in North Carolina. Is it bad that I don't know what my time zone is called?) I'm expecting about a total of 14 chapters when this story ends, but there will be more! Check the AN at the very end of the story for more information! (It'll be posted right after the last chapter is up) Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy the rest of this story! Message me any ideas you have to keep away the ending, since it's coming up sooner than I hoped it would!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry for all the time skips! I hate them myself, but I hate boring parts of a story even more! I'd rather not make a bunch of boring filler chapters, so this is necessary. This should be the last skip for a while though! Thank you so much for taking time to read this story! I love you all!**

-1 month later-

_Dear Mom, _

_ Umidjon still haunts my dreams. He's there, every night when I fall asleep. It does help to think of Natsu. He stars in my mind every night. When I feel like Umidjon is about to finally destroy me, Natsu is always there, bathed in a gold light, giving me hope that I can defeat him. My friends at Fairy Tail have tried their hardest to show that they love me. I feel terrible for making them work so hard, but I highly doubt they would stop if I asked. _

_ The good news is that Natsu said he loved me. Can you believe it? He finally returns my feelings for him. I don't understand why I still can't tell Umidjon he's wrong after that. I thought it would be proof enough. But I guess there's still something somewhere in my heart that refuses to believe any of it. I don't know how I'll ever be able to get rid of it._

_ But when there is good news, there is always bad news. I'm slowly losing this fight. I know I said that Natsu was helping in my dreams, and he is. But Umidjon is seriously damaging me. The only motivation I have in the mornings to get out of bed is Fairy Tail, like if I didn't have them I would probably wither away to nothingness. Sometimes, I give up all hope of ever getting rid of this constant voice in the back of my mind, or the terrible nightmares that plague my dreams. I don't know what to do. I feel like Umidjon is slowly taking over my mind. I think Natsu notices what's happening to me sometimes, but he hasn't tried to talk to me about it. What would he say? 'I'm sorry you feel that way, I'll try to make it more obvious that I love you?' That won't help me. It will only make me feel guiltier. All I want is for everyone to treat me normally again._

_ We're at an impasse, Umidjon and I. He can't completely destroy my will, but he can crush it until I can barely feel it at all. I can't destroy him. We are at a standstill. It's like the eye of a hurricane. The messy part so far was getting through to the center. Any moment, we could be plunged into the storm once again. _

_ I've made up my mind. I'm going to sneak out tonight (and yes, I have to sneak out or else Natsu will insist on coming with me) and go back to Acalypha. Maybe if I talk to father, it'll help. I hope it will, at least. _

_ More than ever, I wish you were here right now. I hope what Umidjon has said isn't true; that your death wasn't my fault. If it was, I am so sorry. I can never make up for what I could have done to you. Wish me luck._

_ ~Lucy_

* * *

My door creaked quietly as I looked over my shoulder to make sure it didn't wake anyone up. Natsu still snored on my bed. Happy murmured something about fish in his sleep. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued down the creaky stairs and onto the deserted sidewalk. I ran for as long as I could, until my chest hurt. I wanted to get to Acalypha as soon as possible and finish up quickly. Hopefully Natsu won't worry too much. I left him a note that said I'd be back soon, and to not worry.

Big mistake.

The moment I stepped outside of our town, a group of robbers surrounded me.

"Ooo, she's a little fairy," someone said, noticing the mark on my hand.

"If you don't leave me alone, you're begging for Fairy Tail to come and hurt you," I threatened. The men laughed.

"Fairy Tail couldn't defeat my grandma," one of them scoffed. My blood boiled. How dare they make fun of my beloved guild!

"I'll give you one more chance to leave me alone," I said darkly.

"Yeah, what are you going to do? Kick my shins and go tell your daddy?" he taunted.

"I'll show you not to mess with Fairy Tail! Gate of the bull, I summon thee. Taurus!" I called, turning his key in the air. The large cow appeared out of the ground

"I will protect my master and her body!" he yelled, pounding two of the men in one swing of his axe.

I dodged out of the way of who I assumed to be the leader. He was coming straight for me. Taurus was busy getting everyone else, so this guy was all mine. I took out my whip and flicked my wrist. The rope coiled around his ankles and knocked him off his feet. I stood over him and laughed.

"Now say you're sorry," I taunted. I don't know what came over me. I was so angry at this man, I felt like I could kill him.

'I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" he cowered beneath me.

"Not good enough," I hissed. I pulled my foot backwards about to swing, when I froze.

This wasn't me. What's going on? Taurus left already. These people were already down. They were saying they're sorry, begging for me to forgive them, that they won't ever bother Fairy Tail again. My hands shook. Why was I doing this?

**_Because you are a terrible person. You enjoy other people's pain._**

No, I don't. I never have.

**_You're lying to yourself. Stop. You were secretly happy when Natsu was about to be consumed by that imposter dragon. You were ecstatic when you thought Erza and Natsu had been destroyed by Ertheon. Admit it._**

I was not.

**_You were cheering in your mind when Gray was almost killed by Lyon._**

****"Shut…Up… Stop telling me these things!" I forced through my teeth.

**_Why? It's true, isn't it?_**

****No…No it isn't…

**_If I'm telling lies, then why do you believe me? You hate your father. He hates you. You would be happy if he died._**

"Stop," I whimpered. I forced my legs to move, to take me away from the robbers. I walked further down the road until I could no longer see them and sat on a stump by the trees.

**_It's the truth. You wanted Laxus to destroy everyone in the guild. You wanted Phantom to destroy your guild, to destroy Levy and her team._**

"No. Levy is my friend," I said weakly. Dark spots were breaking across my vision.

**_She's your friend as much as Angel was when you almost killed her in your fight against Oracien Seis. You remember, when you used Uramo Meteora?_**

****"STOP IT!" I screamed clutching my head.

**_Why? It's all the truth. This is why you can't destroy me. Because you know deep in your heart that this is all right._**

****"No, no, no, no, no, no," I chanted. I gasped as I turned cold all over. Umidjon appeared in front of me and laughed.

"Not only do I have control of your mind, now I have control of your body, too!"

**A/N : I'm so sorry for any words I miss-spelled in this chapter! If you PM me the correct way, I'll update the chapter immediately!**


	8. Chapter 8

Natsu's PoV

I rolled over in my sleep and expected to hit Lucy. She always slept against the wall. Every night, I've climbed into bed with her to sleep. And we only slept. But she wasn't there. I opened my eyes groggily and saw a note left on her pillow. I rubbed my eye and sat up to read it.

_I'll be back. I had to go talk to my father, so don't worry about me. I'll be home by tomorrow night! Xoxo –Lucy_

I mentally cursed and got out of the warm bed.

"Come on, Happy!" I called, running to the door. Happy got up slowly and trudged after me.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"We gotta go save Lucy!"

Happy lifted his wings and sped up. "Aye, sir!" he yelled. We ran off towards the road taken to get to Acalypha.

Why would Lucy leave without me? I made her promise to never leave my side! Maybe she had to do this alone…Would she be angry if I came and interrupted her and her dad talking? Should I even go at all?

Shut up, I told myself. Even if she's angry with me, at least she'll be alive. I know she's still been dreaming of Umidjon. I'm the one that wakes her up in the middle of her nightmare every night and holds her until she falls back asleep. She calls out my name every night in pain, and I know there's nothing I can do to help, except be there for her when she needs it. I pretend to ignore the dark circles under her eyes, just like everyone else at the guild. Whenever she isn't around me, somebody comes up and asks if they can do anything to help. And every time, I sadly shake my head and go to find her.

"Lucy!" I yelled.

"Lucyyy!" Happy called, soaring above me. I stopped when I saw a bunch of men lying on the ground. "Have you guys seen a blonde girl run by here?" I asked.

"She went that way!" one of the men said, pointing further down the road.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked.

"That girl beat us up with her giant cow. We made fun of Fairy Tail and she got mad."

"That's your guys' fault. She loses her temper when someone disses our guild," I snarled. I continued on my way.

"Lucy!"

I found someone. A girl was sitting on a stump on the side of the road, looking depressed.

"Have you seen a blonde-," I started, but cut myself off. The girl looked up and smiled.

"Lucy?" I asked.

The girl sitting in front of me had hair black as night. That was the only difference in her, though. She still had the same beautiful brown eyes, the same smile that she now pointed at me wickedly.

"Hey there, Natsu," she cooed, standing up.

"Luce, what happened to your hair?" I asked. Happy sat on my shoulder.

"Oh, this? I thought it would fit her better. And stop calling me Lucy. She's not here anymore," her voice said. I tilted my head in confusion.

"Stop joking around, Lucy. Let's go back home," I pleaded.

"I said, I am not Lucy, although this is her body." Lucy –err- Lucy's body laughed hysterically. "I think I remember you. You're in a lot of this girl's thoughts. I'll take pleasure in crushing you.

"You see, this girl has given in. I got into her mind and took control, and after that, it was simple to take control of her body.

"I am Umidjon."

* * *

Lucy's PoV

I will never forget the look on Natsu's face. He was equally parts shocked, angry, and disgusted. While Umidjon is in control of my body, I'm still in here, watching everything happen. There's nothing I can do to stop this. Umidjon was going to destroy Magnolia and then disappear, leaving all the blame on me. Every single person he kills will be blood on my hands, all because I wasn't strong or confident enough to banish this guy from my mind. But that couldn't stop me from trying.

"Nat…su….Run!" I panted. It took all of the energy I had to get out those two words.

"I'm not leaving! I won't leave you alone, Lucy!" Natsu growled. "If you can't beat this guy, then I can help! Roar of the—"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Umidjon said in my voice. "I really hoped you weren't that dense. I am inside Lucy's body. That means, if you hurt me, you hurt Lucy." Natsu stopped.

"Now this is where the fun really begins," Umidjon squealed. "Gate of the Lion, I open thee. Leo!"

Leo appeared. He looked confused when the person he was staring at was Natsu. "Lucy?" he asked.

"Attack," Umidjon purred. Loke hesitated. He didn't move. "Are you disobeying your master?" he snarled.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. You aren't my master," Loke said, disappearing. I cheered for him. He understood that this wasn't really me! Loke came back a minute later, this time followed by Gemini. They promptly joined together to become a second Loke. They tackled my body to the ground and pinned my wrists and my ankles down.

"I'm sorry!" Gemini said.

"Natsu, you have to get inside her mind. She needs you to help her destroy this," Loke said.

"How do you expect me to do that?" Natsu yelled.

"Just focus only on Lucy. Block out everything else. Concentrate on your love for her."

"Happy, go back to the guild and tell Gramps what's going on. Get the rest of the guild together and get ready in case I can't stop this," Natsu ordered, walking closer to me.

"Aye, sir!" Happy yelled, soaring back into town. Natsu crouched down beside me and hugged me.

"YOU CAN'T DISOBEY ME!" Umidjon screamed, thrashing in the spirits' grasp.

"I'll save you Lucy. Just hold on. Wait for me."

A second later, and Natsu disappeared inside my body. My voice beat past Umidjon's and I let out a scream. Having three people n your body at the same time was not easy or fun. It was physical, gut-wrenching pain.

"Ha. Ha ha ha ha!" Umidjon laughed. The spirits released my body and vanished. "Now, I have both of you trapped. Nobody will ever stop me! I'll absorb Natsu's powers and destroy even more people! You have given me Magnolia forever! I'll never let Lucy go!"


	9. Chapter 9

Natsu's PoV

Was I inside Lucy's memories? Why did I feel this much pain? Is this how Lucy feels all the time? I tumbled onto the ground behind a little blonde girl standing in front of a gravestone. Layla Heartfilia was written across the top. It was pouring, and the little girl was drenched. Was this a young Lucy?

**_It's your fault she died. She got tired of being around you, so she died._**

****Was that Umidjon's voice? Was he speaking directly into her head? I felt such deep loss and sadness, it almost crippled me. What was going on?

"Fool. You're in Lucy's mind, going through her memories. You are feeling the same things she is," Loke's voice floated into my head. Was he here too? No time to think of that now. I had to finish this as quickly as possible before Lucy's body destroyed something in the real world.

"Lucy! It's alright; it was just a terrible accident that killed your mom!" I yelled. The younger version of Lucy didn't move. I tried putting my hand on her shoulder, but it passed straight through. Ok, if that won't work… Wait! If Umidjon can speak into her mind, then can I?

**_Lucy?_** I tried. She looked up at where I was standing.

"Is someone there?" she asked in her sad, innocent voice.

**_It's not your fault that your mom died. It was only an accident._** Hey, maybe this would be easier than I thought!

_It's not my fault…? _the thought reverberated through my mind.

**_Your mother loves you. She didn't mean to die, but she'll always look over you._**

"It's not my fault," she said out loud. Her tiny fist came up and scrubbed the tears out of her eyes. "I'm ok. Mommy loves me." I sighed in relief. There's one fixed memory done. How many had Umidjon tampered with?

* * *

"Daddy, I made you a rice ball! It has your face on it!" Lucy exclaimed. Today was her birthday, and she thought maybe if she could remind her father, he would stop working for a little while and play with her.

I was transported and dumped onto the carpet of a giant office. The same young Lucy was standing in front of her father's wide desk while he worked. He looks a lot different now compared to how he is in the real world.

"I'm busy right now. Leave," he muttered, not taking his eyes off the computer in front of him. A twinge of disappointment ran through Lucy, but she shrugged it off. Today would be fun if she could just remind her dad! It hurt to watch these scenes. It was almost like a movie. I felt bad for invading all these deep memories, but I had no choice. I had to undo everything Umidjon had done.

"Ok, I'll just leave it right here then. Eat it when you get hungry, ok?" she said, placing the little ball on his desk. "I don't know if you remember, but today is my—"

"Did I not tell you I was busy?" he thundered. "I told you to go away! And don't make food, that's what the servants are for!" He swung his arm, knocking the small ball of rice to the floor. My blood boiled. No wonder Lucy can't stand the site of her father! This man was a monster!

"I'm sorry," little Lucy cried. She gathered the ball in her tiny fingers and ran from the room, wiping the tears on the back of her hand.

**_He hates you. He hates you, and so does everyone else. Nobody likes you. They never have, and they never will._**

****I followed Lucy down the long corridor outside her father's office, ignoring all of the maids and the servants that reached out for her. _ They're a bunch of liars. None of them actually like me. They are only here because Daddy paid them to be,_ she thought.

I never thought I could feel something like this. I understand now how it feels to think that your own parent doesn't like you. Igneel left me 7 years ago, but at least I know he honestly cared for me while we were together.

**_He didn't mean it. He was just angry. He loves you. These people are your friends, and they care for you like a daughter, _**I thought into her head. Lucy stopped at the end of the hallway and looked back and forth. First at me, and then where Umidjon appeared. She saw neither of us, but this was where she decided who was telling the truth.

**_ He didn't mean any of it._**

The little girl turned towards me and ran straight through me to whatever rooms were behind me.

"You may have won these first two rounds, but now I'm getting angry. And when I get angry, I play dirty," Umidjon threatened.

"Bring it on," I replied, smirking. I would protect Lucy, even if it cost my life.

* * *

This time, when I fell into the next memory, I landed on my feet.

**_ You're running away from home because you are a coward. You know nobody likes you, and you are trying to save yourself. You are a selfish little brat that will never do anything useful in your life._**

The vicious words ran through our minds. I winced at the harsh words. The words produced fuel for a teenage Lucy's tears as she packed her bags with the most basic clothes she had.

_ Nobody can know that I'm from this family. Nobody can know who I really am._

I got to work right away, following Lucy around her room as she filled her suitcases.

**_It's not true. You are doing this because your father is cruel and you have to get away. You are not a coward or a brat. You will do wonderful things in your life; you just don't know it yet._**

****_Shut up. Stop lying. I'm a pathetic loser._

I was shocked. This hasn't happened before. I guess it'll be harder to convince her of things the older she gets. Heart ache throbbed in my chest. She really believes anything Umidjon tells her. He has hurt her so much, and he WILL pay for it.

**_That's right, believe me. You know I'm speaking the truth. Loser, pathetic, worthless._**

**_ You are none of those things! You are perfect, beautiful, incredible. _**

**_ Trash._**

**_ Amazing. _**

****"Am I really fighting with myself over this?" Lucy asked out loud. She gave a little chuckle. "You know what, who the hell cares? I have to leave."

Umidjon stared at me triumphantly and left, heading towards the next memory.

**_Didn't your mom always tell you to hope? Have faith in yourself and believe that you are doing the right thing for the right reasons._** I gave one last try.

Lucy's steps slowed. Her mind rushed with images of her mother.

"Mom," she whispered. "You're right. I'm fine the way I am." She continued to pack her bags, but her mind was clear. She only thought of leaving now. I jumped up and down and high-fived myself. That'll teach that arrogant, stupid Umidjon who's stronger! I closed my eyes happily and thought of the next place to go, wherever that would be. I opened my eyes at the next stop and saw…

Myself.


	10. Chapter 10

**_He only invited you to join the guild because he feels sorry for you. He knows you are a worthless Celestial made and that you'll probably be killed soon anyway, so he thought there was no harm in it._**

****I shook my head angrily. Umidjon really went this far? I invited Lucy because she was nice! Even back then, when Happy and I saved her from the fake Salamander, I realized that I wanted to be able to protect her! Lucy had to have realized that!

Lucy smiled and showed she was excited. I didn't know her well enough back then to notice that the smile was forced, and that there was sadness in her eyes. I paced around myself from the past and Lucy. This was so stupid! How dare Umidjon make Lucy doubt me! She's an incredible wizard! I didn't pay attention to where I was going and collided with myself from the past. There was a weird second, where it felt like my body was being stretched like Laffy Taffy, and then I was staring at Lucy.

I had somehow stepped into my body. I experimentally lifted my arm, and the past me lifted his too. I shook my head, and so did my body. Yes! Past Happy and Lucy stared at me oddly, and I stopped celebrating.

"Well then let's go!" I said, grabbing Lucy's hand. "You'll have so much fun at Fairy Tail. Everyone is the best! Well, mostly everyone, but you get my point! You're our only Celestial mage, so everyone will be excited to meet you! Fairy Tail is the best guild in the world! Oh man, I'm getting revved up just talking about it!" I babbled. "You'll do great there!"

_I'll do great there. He's inviting me… not because he's guilty, but because he's just an honestly good person!_ Lucy thought. I mentally threw a party. Beat that, Umidjon! This was getting easier and easier!

"Just wait. The grand finale is coming up, and that's one I won't lose," Umidjon chuckled darkly from an ally we passed.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Lucy!" Lucy said. This was when she first joined the guild and was getting to know everyone. I could feel her happiness and excitement bubbling up and spilling over. She really loved Fairy Tail, and she only just joined!

"Hi, Lu-Chan! I'm Levy!" Levy said, knocking away Lucy's formal handshake and hugging her.

"You're the first person to do that all day," Lucy laughed, hugging her back. The little blue haired girl pulled away and smiled.

"That's just because I can feel we're going to be best friends!"

**_Levy only pretends to be your friend. You have no one else, so she feels bad. You are her charity case, nothing more._**

****How do I work with this one? I don't think there's any way to convince somebody that they're friends actually like them! Lucy sighed.

_ I know. I'm pitiful, so she's pretending. I have no real friends. I never have. _

I stomped around in frustration. Umidjon knew I couldn't fix this one!

"Yo. I'm Gray," Gray said, walking towards Lucy. She waved nervously.

"Hi! I'm Lucy!" she said, trying to sound cheerful.

"GRAY!" the past me yelled from across the room. I stormed up to him. "WHY'D YOU FREEZE MY TEA?"

If I was in this memory, then it would be easy to fix! I walked towards my body, but passed through. I tried again, and again. Why wouldn't it work this time?

"You forget that this is my show you're in," Umidjon laughed. "I control everything in this memory. If I wanted to, I could set the guild on fire right now."

"That doesn't even make sense! The guild never really burned down!" I argued.

"It doesn't have to. I have the power to create new memories however I want to. And there's nothing you can do to change that. Like there's nothing you can do to step into your body again."

"I didn't come near your damn tea," he growled. "I was over here meeting the new girl!" Lucy looked embarrassed. Levy grabbed her hand and smiled encouragingly.

"It's ok. They do this all the time," she said.

"Then why was my tea cold when I went to drink it!?" I asked, butting my head against his.

"Just because something is cold doesn't mean it's my fault!" Gray insisted. "You waited too long to drink it!"

"Oh yeah, Ice Princess?"

"Yeah, Flame Head."

"Frozen Boxer Man!"

"Fire Brain!"

"Droopy Eyes!"

"Squinty Eyes!"

I sighed in defeat. There was no way I could think of to make Lucy believe that Levy truly liked her. It's just something I'll have to deal with when I get back to the real world. I closed my eyes and fast forwarded to the next memory.

* * *

**_ The entire fight was your fault. You are the reason the guild was destroyed by Phantom. Levy being hurt was your fault. If you hadn't joined Fairy Tail, everyone would be happy right now._**

Ok, this one I can understand. Lucy already thought it was her fault, so it wouldn't have taken much to make her positive. All I felt was gut- twisting guilt and pain.

_Levy got hurt because of me. So did Jet and Droy. Mirajane was going to get hurt trying to take my place. And Natsu is alone inside that monster.. I wish I'd never joined Fairy Tail, no matter how much I love it. I've only brought people pain and suffering. _

_**The fault was your father's, not yours. He went too far trying to get you back. There was no reason for him to do that. It's not your fault. Levy isn't angry with you. And Natsu loves you. He would protect you with his life any day, **_I thought, meaning every word.

"Ha! Right! Natsu doesn't love me. He never will, no matter how I feel about him." Lucy said to herself. She was sitting in the corner of the Fairy Tail safe house while Reedus drew her. I sat down beside her and tried to put my arm around her shoulders, until I remembered that it wouldn't work.

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry._

Dammit, Lucy! Why won't you listen to the others! Nobody thinks it's your fault! They only want to protect you, just like I do! Now, the main question. Can I change Lucy's mind on this one? She already felt like this in the real world.

I resigned sadly. After losing twice in a row to Umidjon, I HAD to win the next one.

"Next up is the grand finale. I won't fail," Umidjon said.

"Good luck. I'm getting revved up now. You can't beat me!" I said, bouncing on the balls of my feet. I'll add this situation to my To- Do list in the real world.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on where to go next. I was suddenly hit with a pain so intense, I had to cry out. My fingers clutched at my throat, at my heart. It felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest with a butcher's knife again and again until all that was left was a bloody mess.

_I've read so many books about this. I never knew that what they said was actually true._

Tears welled in the corner of my eyes. What was going on? What was this intense pain zipping all through my body?

Lucy froze the second she opened the doors to the guild. I was sitting in the middle of the hall with Lisanna, kissing her. Mirajane and Erza noticed Lucy standing there and started pointing, laughing their asses off. Soon, everybody guffawed at her. I broke away from Lisanna for a second and yelled, "Oi! Why don't you just go home? Nobody here likes you!" My knees – err- Lucy's knees trembled, knocking together. Her bangs hid her eyes from everyone in the room.

"I hate you most of all!" I called, and returned to Lisanna.

NO NO NO. THIS WAS BEYOND LOW. WAS THIS A DREAM THAT UMIDJON CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR LUCY?

I surged forward towards my body and tried to get inside, like I did earlier.

"Let me in!" I screamed, pounding on the arms and legs of the fake Natsu. "LET ME IN. I HAVE TO FIX THIS. I HAVE TO SAVE LUCY!"

"Your attempts are futile. You can't change my dreams!" Umidjon called.

"Just watch me!" I continued to punch my human body. Not once did I make actually contact. My fists passed right through my body. "I love Lucy, I love Lucy," I chanted. "I'm doing this to save Lucy, who I love." My body melted for a second, and then I was the one kissing Lisanna. I stood up suddenly and

shoved away from her. Everyone around me gasped.

"Natsu, what's gotten in to you?" Erza asked. Lisanna looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, Lisanna, but I love Lucy; not you. And I have to go!" I ran for the door, chasing Lucy through the streets of Magnolia. All the while, I felt Lucy's heart shuddering, splintering into tiny fragments. And this was all because of me. I had no clue Lucy felt this strongly about me.

_Just when I found somebody that I really liked, he had to go and do this. He had to break my heart, just like my father did._

I picked up my pace. There was no way I was going to be categorized into a heart breaker along with that beast she calls a father.

"LUCY!" I yelled. She stopped and turned around. We were standing beside her apartment, in front of the river she'd fallen in so long ago. The light from the sunset slanted off the water and turned Lucy's hair into a golden ray.

"What do you want?" she grumbled, wiping her eyes angrily.

"You. You are all I've ever wanted."

"Stop!" Umidjon and Lucy yelled at the same time. "Stop lying to me, you bastard. I know you hate me, just admit it already!"

The way Lucy's voice clashed with Umidjon's was hauntingly eerie. He said he was going to win this round, but I refused to believe it. This was one battle I couldn't afford to lose.

"Luce, I love you from the bottom of my heart." And then I did the only thing I could think of.

I kissed her.


	11. Chapter 11

Gray's PoV

We kicked into gear when Happy finished explaining what happened. Mirajane went to inform the master. Erza re-quipped into her fire-resistant armor. Levy was going to lead her team consisting of Gajeel, Freid, Macao, Droy and Jet around the town to try to find Lucy, while Erza led her team, which included me, Erza, Cana, Happy and Wendy and Carla. Everyone else stayed behind to guard the guild.

"We don't know what Umidjon will be like when he gets here, but we have to remember that he's in Lucy's body. If we hurt him, we also hurt her," Erza reminded us.

"You're mission is to stop the havoc, no matter what," Master Makarov said.

"But if we hurt him, we're hurting Lucy too!" Levy said

"It can't be helped. We must keep safe the town at all costs," Master ordered. We bowed our heads in submission. He was right. But that didn't mean we'd have to enjoy it.

Erza led us out of the guild and we took off, running through the streets, searching for Lucy's body in every nook and cranny. A huge explosion sounded around the next corner, and we sped towards it. Lucy was breathing fire all around her. Wait… breathing FIRE?

"Lucy, stop!" Erza yelled. The girl with black hair- wait, BLACK HAIR?- turned to face us and laughed.

"You can't stop me," she taunted. "Roar of the fire dragon!" Flames shot from her puffed out cheeks, aimed directly at us. I created a barrier out of ice to shield us. It took most of the brunt, but I got burned a little in the process. The fire completely melted my ice, leaving me a soaking mess. I pulled off my shirt out of habit and got ready to fight. Wendy stood back and started supporting us.

"Arms! Shield! Vernier!" she chanted. Carla guarded Wendy, and Happy guarded Carla. Cana got out her cards.

"Let Natsu and Lucy go, Umidjon, or you will face the strongest wizards of Fairy Tail," Erza threatened.

"Oh, no, I'm having too much fun! I want to see how willing you are to hurt your dear Lucy's body in order to get to me."

"Our orders are to defeat you, no matter what the costs are," I said angrily. I hoped he would think that I was mad at him and this whole situation, not mad at the master like I really am. Erza glanced sharply at me. Figures she would see right through me.

"But if you defeat me in this body, you will kill Lucy and the little dragon boy! Would you really be willing to murder your two best friends?" he asked. This guy knew just what to say to get under my skin.

"Ice Make: Cannon!" I slammed my fists together.

"Oh, so pretty I did hope I'd get to see your magic, Gray. Lucy's mind apparently loves your magic. Hmmm, what did she think exactly? Oh, I know! 'Gray's magic is always so pretty. If I didn't hate the cold so much, I would have loved to be an Ice Make Mage'. Something along those lines." I kept my face neutral, but my hands were shaking. He doesn't have permission to rummage through somebody else's memories and mess with them! Yet, at the same time, I couldn't bear to hurt Lucy. She's like a sister to me. A sister that can be really annoying, but all little sisters are…I think.

Erza charged forward and started slashing her sword here and there, trying to hit Lucy. I don't think she could hurt her either, since I know Erza was holding back. How were we going to do this?

"I'm slightly disappointed at you, Erza," Umidjon said in Lucy's voice. "Lucy has all these memories of how terrifying your fighting can be, but maybe she was just making it up. You are nowhere near as strong as she made you up to be." Erza stood across from him/her, panting. Umidjon/Lucy wasn't even breaking a sweat. I fired my cannon when he wasn't looking.

"Iron fist of the fire dragon," Umidjon said calmly. He put out his/her flaming fist and melted my ice easily. "You guys really are pathetic."

Cana threw some of her cards. They zoomed by, too fast for my eyes to track, and made shallow cuts on Lucy's arms.

"Ouch. Lucy's definitely going to feel that in the morning!" Umidjon chuckled. "Now it's Cana's turn. I can see Lucy's memories of you guys when you were at Tenroujima. Aww, she volunteered to be your partner, how sweet. Now, why was that? Nobody ever realized you were that close before. Do you think it has anything to do with being failing the S Class exam 4 times in a row?" Cana shook in anger.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" she screamed. She threw row after row of cards, cutting and scraping Lucy's entire body. Erza started attacking again. Lucy dodged at first, until she got Erza really angry, and then suddenly stopped. Umidjon let Erza cut him right through the arm.

"That one might need some stitches," he observed thoughtfully." I wonder how Lucy will feel about this when she realizes that the people closest to her did this. Keep attacking, please. This is just starting to get entertaining!"

"Roar of the sky dragon!" Wendy called. A blue swirling mass flew from her mouth and hit Lucy square in the chest, knocking her back against the closest building.

"Now that that's over, let's see how Lucy feels about you guys. I'm all for hurting you and letting Lucy suffer the consequences, but that's overdone. I think I'll make you all feel bad for injuring her in the first place!"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" I yelled. I shot ice ball after ice ball, but she easily dodged each one.

"Come one, this'll be fun!" he cheered. "Gray, since you were first last time, let's start with you again. Gray Fullbuster. 'He's my best friend. He's always been there for me. Even though he fights with Natsu a lot, is constantly only wearing underwear, and is sometimes annoying, he's one of the closest friends I have.'" I stopped my attacks and stood still, gaping at him. That's how she really felt?

"Erza Scarlet. 'She's like another sister to me. I love her with all my heart. She can be kind of scary sometimes, but she wouldn't be Erza if she wasn't. It's so cool how she an changed into whatever she wants to wear just by thinking about it, so I don't understand why she still brings that gigantic cart of suitcases every time we go on a job!'" Erza lowered her sword.

"Wendy Marvell. 'I haven't really known her for that long, but she's probably the sweetest little girl I've ever met. She keeps all out hopes up. She can joke around with us, but she can still be serious sometimes. She is so innocent, and sometimes I'm shocked with all the things she's been through that she still acts so kind. I'm lucky I've met her.'" Wendy forgot about helping us and fell to her knees on the street.

"Carla. 'She can be kind of stuck up, but I love her. She's helped us so much, and she's really saved Wendy more times than I can count. I'm glad she's a part of Fairy Tail.'" Carla sat in front of Wendy and hugged her.

"And finally, Happy. 'He's my best little flying friend. He makes fun of me too much, and is annoying a lot, but I couldn't live without him. He's saved my life more times than I can count. I love that happy look on his face when I feed him a fish. He's the closest think I have to a little brother, and he's not even human!'" Happy sat heavily on the ground.

"And there you have it. Without even touching you, I've defeated every single one of you. Just like I said, Fairy Tail is pathetic."


	12. Chapter 12

Natsu's PoV

I kissed my best friend. I kissed my team mate. I kissed the girl I loved. And the best part:

She kissed me back.

"I told you so," I whispered into her lips. She giggled childishly and stared into my eyes. "Do you believe me now? Do you believe that I love you?" She nodded her head slowly, tears brimming over her eyes and trickling down her cheeks. Suddenly, she gasped.

"You're the one… You went through all my memories, didn't you!?" she gasped. I backed away slowly.

"Come on, Luce! I did it to save you!" I pleaded, knowing where this was going. I was right. Lucy's leg kicked out and her foot made contact with my cheek.

"YOU WENT THROUGH ALL OF MY PERSONAL MEMORIES!" she shrieked. I sailed into the wall, but laughed anyway. Lucy was back to normal again. And she knows what's going on!

"There's one more dream," Lucy said. I took her hand in mine, and together we drifted to the final part of her mind.

* * *

Lucy's PoV

All of my spirits gathered around me. Natsu held my hand and faced them with me.

"I hate you! –ebi" Cancer said.

"No you don't. Sometimes you get tired of me calling you out for selfish reasons, but you don't mind too much. And you care for me just as much as I care for you," I said.

"Call on me again, and I'll help kill you. You don't deserve to own my key," Aquarius said.

"You say that, but you don't mean it. You complain so much about how you can't stand me, but you would miss me if I was gone."

"You are a terrible owner. Moshimoshi," Sagittarius said.

"No she isn't. You know that," Natsu answered.

"Get away from here. We all hate you," Loke said. He went to push my back, but a barrier of light separated us.

"You are the biggest liar here, Loke. You are my closest friend in the spirit world. I saved you, and you saved me. That's how it is," Natsu and I answered together.

Loke smiled proudly.

"Are you ready? It's time to test out how you really feel now," Natsu said, facing me.

"It's now or never."

We closed our eyes in unison. As one, our spirits floated upwards, into the sky.

Natsu appeared outside of my body. But what surrounded us was worse than any nightmare Umidjon could have ever created for me.

The town of Magnolia was in chaos. I stood on some random street I've never been on before. Gray, Erza, Happy, Cana and Wendy stood in front of me.

I looked down to see cuts and scrapes all over my body. None of them were life threatening, but I could feel the sting.

"We can't hurt her!" Natsu yelled. "Lucy's in there!"

"And so is Umidjon. Our orders are to take out Umidjon before he can ruin the city.

"Trust me! Just wait," Natsu insisted. The others resigned and focused instead on dodging my attacks. While I was conscious again, I still couldn't control my body. I thought as hard as I could, cleared my mind of everything except getting this thing out of my body. I suddenly felt 10 pounds lighter. My body felt like jelly, and I kneeled on the ground. Umidjon was standing in front of me.

"You may have cast me out of your physical body, but you can't cast me out of your mind! I won't be rid of that easily!" He put a finger onto his temple, and a searing pain shot through my head. I cried out and doubled over.

"Why are you doing this to Lucy?" Happy asked.

"It doesn't matter, because I've won! I have destroyed half of this city! I've hurt all of you! And now, all that pain and suffering of the people of Magnolia will be on Lucy's hands! She will feel this regret forever!" Umidjon threw his head back and laughed. There was nothing I could do but cower beneath him and keep the agony in my mind from knocking me out.

"You can do it, Lucy!" Natsu yelled. "You can beat this guy!

"Wrong again, little dragon. She could never defeat me. She doesn't have the confidence!"

"Come on Lucy! Get up and fight this guy! We believe in you!" Erza cheered.

"You helped me when we were on Tenroujima, so now it's my turn to help you!" Cana called. "Now get off your ass and hit this guy! He deserves it after everything he's done!"

"We love you Lucy! We're your family, and we believe in you!" Gray said.

"Lucy-san is the best!" Happy exclaimed.

"Nice try, fairies. None of what you said has any meaning. Lucy doesn't believe any of you!" Umidjon said.

"You're wrong," I murmured. Umidjon snapped his head to look at me, along with everyone else. "You are wrong. I can do anything, when I have my friends with me. If my friends trust me to do something, then I can do it!"

I pushed up from the ground using my hands. My legs wobbled at first, and Natsu was about to run over and help me. Erza held him back with a shake of her head. "This is something she needs to do alone."

Summoning the last ounce of magical power I had left in my body, I called out Loke. The lion spirit appeared in front of me in his normal suit and tie. His glasses glinted evilly.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Nobody but Lucy can touch me!" Umidjon chuckled. Loke ran up to Umidjon and punched him. His fist sailed right through.

"But I beat you the last time!" Loke complained.

"No you didn't. I was simply tired of you trying to hurt me, so I vanished. I never left Lucy's side. I was always there!"

After a few more failed punches, Loke said, "I'm sorry princess. I failed." He dropped his head in defeat.

"Now that's more like it," Umidjon said. He swung his fist out and sent Loke flying into Cana. She caught him and laid him on the ground. He propped himself onto his elbows so he could watch the scene that was unfolding in front of him. "If you defeat me, you kill me. That's the way my magic works. So take your best shot!" he said, spreading his arms wide.

"If he can't hurt you, then I'll have to," I said weakly. I pulled the whip from my belt and uncoiled it.

"Please. You barely have the strength to stand, let alone fight me," Umidjon scoffed.

"Wrong again," I said, and we started our dance. From the outside, it looked perfectly coordinated, like we'd practiced this hundreds of times before. The whip flew there a second after Umidjon moved, a flash of purple smoke appeared there, a second after Lucy dodged. The people of Fairy Tail watched in awed horror.

This fight was going nowhere, though. I had to use the last option, or else Umidjon would kill me. "Uramo….," I said, compiling all the energy that was inside my body into my heart. This was to save Fairy Tail. To save my town, and to save myself, I had to do this. My friends were silent. They looked scared for their lives. None of them knew I had this power in me. Hell, I barely even remember that Hibiki put this into my mind during my fight with Angel. "METEORA!"

The galaxy appeared before us. It was just me and Umidjon in the middle. My friends had gotten caught up in my attack, so I shoved them to the side with my mind. My back arched, and the power left me, all aimed at the darkness before me. Umidjon screamed. We appeared back on the street in town. Umidjon was lying on his back. I had only the strength left to walk over to Umidjon and stand above him.

"Who's the winner now?" I asked. "Umidjon, you are-,"

"How can you destroy me?" Umidjon asked. He smirked.

"How can you destroy your own brother?"


	13. Chapter 13

Time froze. My heart stopped beating. My eyes stopped blinking. My body stopped breathing. The edges of my vision grew fuzzy, until all I could see was Umidjon. He took up my entire vision. There was nothing but him.

"That's right. I'm your brother," Umidjon cooed. He took my shock as an opportunity. He flipped me over, reversing our roles. I was the one lying beneath him now.

"It's not true!" Natsu yelled.

"Of course it is. I am your older brother, the first born of Layla Heartfilia," Umidjon said. I shook my head.

"No! I would have known...," I mumbled. But then, a memory flashed through my mind.

_"Lucy? What are you doing in there?!" Mommy asked. She grabbed my arm and gently guided me away from the storage room I'd been exploring in._

_ "Mommy, why is there a picture of you holding a little boy in there?" I asked._

_ "Oh, that's nothing sweetie. He's just a child that I used to know." I saw that she was about to start crying, so I hugged her around her legs._

_ "It's ok, mommy. I love you!" She smiled and lifted me into her arms._

_ "And I love you, my little Lucy," she whispered into my hair, kissing my forehead. _

Umidjon… He was that little boy in the picture…

"Ah, so you believe me now. When I was 5 years old, right after mother got pregnant with you, father decided that it would be better to have a daughter. Someone he could marry off to the son of some rich company he was working with at the time. He claimed that I was useless, and that there's no longer any reason for me to be in that family. He sent me away with a servant, whom he paid to raise me. I grew up with a rage building in my chest. A rage directed towards you. YOU, the one he kept INSTEAD OF ME!

"Oh, but that's not even the best part. When I turned 7, I snuck back to that mansion. I used the house key I stole before I left and let myself in. I crept through the house. The first time I went, I wanted revenge. I snuck past all of the guards, the people I'd grown up with for five years. I barged into my old room with cans of spray paint, ready to destroy my heart out, but I found you. Everything that used to be mine had been repainted and redecorated, just so a little girl would like it. At the time, you were only 2 years old. I found you asleep in my old bed. I was so angry, I stomped up right beside you and was about to snap your neck.

"Until I saw your face. You looked exactly like mother. You still do, even more so now. My emotions drained out of me when you opened your eyes and started crying. I was there that night, the night I met you, my baby sister. I held you until you were quiet, and then I lay in bed with you until dawn, crying to myself. This was the little girl I was supposed to hate. My own father rejected me for you. But you were so innocent. It wasn't possible for me to dislike you, even the slightest at the time.

"After that, I visited on the fifth night of every month. I would lie next to you, or sit across the room from you. When you turned 6, I stopped. You were getting too old for me to come in without you noticing me. And if you told mother or father that a strange 11 year old boy was in your room at night, they'd upgrade the security. They would have taken away you, the only light in my life at the time. No, not they. HE would have. Mother never wanted to get rid of me. She fought to keep me, but father convinced her in the end. Once he made up his mind, there was no changing it. Instead, I followed your every move. Every time there was a story about you in the newspaper, I kept it. Every single article, I clipped to my wall and reread until I had every line memorized. I loved you, because you were my dear little sister.

"Until 1 year ago, when you ran away from home. You left father, the only man I'd ever wanted to accept me. You left because you didn't want the life you had. You gave it all up. If you had stayed, I wouldn't have minded. I would have continued what I'd always been doing, and get a job somewhere. Maybe even join a guild. My powers were just developing back then, you see. But, no, you gave up the life I wanted. The life I HAD, until mother realized there was a baby girl growing inside of her. You had the life I'd always wanted, and YOU THREW IT ALL AWAY. And for what? So you could join this puny little ragtag group of fairies?"

I was crying. No, I was full out bawling. I had a brother. He loved me, just like an older brother should. But now he was trying to kill me.

"Do you know how many times I wished I'd had a brother?" I asked. "Someone I could talk to? Someone that would understand what father was doing to me, and help me through it?"

"I used to have a sister. She was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. But she was replaced by this trash that threw her and my life away!" he roared. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and shook me, slamming my head against the ground repeatedly until I was dizzy.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "But you are wrong. To save my friends, my new family in Fairy Tail, and this town that I now love, I have to do this. Umidjon, you are wrong. I can do anything I set my mind to. I have my whole life ahead of me. So far, in this one year that I've been away from home, I've been happier than I have my entire life. I have friends and spirits that love me, even if you can't bring yourself too anymore."

Umidjon clutched his heart and sat down heavily beside me. "You don't understand how many people I've destroyed, doing the same thing I did to you." I caught him when he fell over. I laid his head gently on the ground.

"Please forgive me!" I begged. "I never knew about any of this! I never knew what you were going through! I'm sorry I had to do this! I'll never, ever forgive myself!"

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused. It's funny how just a second ago I was trying to kill you, yet all of the anger in my heart has been drained when you said that," he wheezed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I chanted.

"Follow your dreams… make your own paths… don't give….up…" he choked out. The heavens opened above us, letting loose a torrential rain. I didn't move from my kneeling position.

"Love….Lucy…little sister….." were his final words before he took his last breath. I screamed louder than I ever have before, letting loose all of my anguish and hatred into one long, steady sound. Umidjon started disappearing in my arms. I put my forehead against his and held on for dear life.

"Please don't leave me! I just got you! I just got a brother! I love you!" I begged. A minute later, he was gone. In his place was a heart shaped locket. Inside, I found a picture he had taken on one of the nights he snuck into my room as a child. He was lying next to me, with his arm around my shoulders. I was curled into his side, sucking my thumb.

I rolled onto my side in the middle of the street and cried, holding the locket to my heart.


	14. Chapter 14

Natsu grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. Gray draped one of my arms behind his neck, and Natsu took the other. Erza and Cana kept quiet, walking ahead of us. The boys half carried me back to the guild. Nobody said a word. My right hand fisted around the necklace Umidjon had left for me.

My brother…

I was emotionless. Images passed by me in a daze. Natsu and Gray carrying me into the guild. People crowding around us until Erza forced them back. Being laid down in a bed in the medical room. Natsu lying next to me. Natsu stroking the wet hair out of my face. It somehow turned back to its original blonde. Natsu saying everything would be ok. Natsu clipping the necklace around my neck. Natsu.

Natsu…

* * *

I opened my eyes groggily to realize I was lying almost on top of Natsu. I quickly tried to roll off, saving myself the embarrassment of him seeing me like this, when he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me even closer.

"How are you?" he asked. He was already awake.

"I'm alive," I coughed. Natsu reached behind him to the table and handed me a glass of water, which I gladly gulped down.

"Did you dream about Umidjon last night?" he asked. I nodded, blinking back the tears forming at just hearing his name. "I thought so. I woke you up in the middle of the night when you started screaming. I assumed it was something like that."

I unwound myself from his arm and sat up, leaning against the headboard. He mimicked me, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"What am I going to do now?" I asked helplessly.

"Like you said. You are going to live. We'll get him a grave stone and put it next to your mother's. And then, things will eventually go back to normal. You'll take your time healing, and I'll be there every step of the way," he said.

"Promise?"

"Lucy, I promise I'll always protect you with everything I have. You will never leave my side again. I love you."

"And I love you, Natsu."

* * *

I was wrong. I thought that after Umidjon was gone, my nightmares would stop. In reality, they only got worse. Instead of having no confidence in myself, I utterly loathed myself. I dreamed of saying those cursed words to Umidjon, and then holding him as he disintegrated in my arms. I would be reliving this moment in my life forever.

Natsu was right, though. I was going to live. We put a stone right next to my mom's for him. She would have liked that. Natsu and Happy came with me when I brought flowers for them. They were both completely serious, for probably one of the first times in their lives. But of course, that couldn't last. They were teasing me and joking the entire way home. I could only join in halfheartedly, but they understood.

The day I woke up, the night after Umidjon died, was chaos. But Natsu stood by my side the entire time. As I explained to the master what had happened, then gave an edited version to the rest of the guild. I only told them that after Umidjon had taken over my body, Natsu saved me and I was able to defeat him. I didn't tell them that he was dead, or that he was my brother. But the entire time I spoke, I held my new locket between my fingers and hoped that he found my mom, wherever he is now. The only ones that held my secret now are the ones that were there that night, plus Master.

And that's pretty much the end of this story. Looking back, I realize how crazy it is. Some random guy decides to torture me for months, and then tells me he's my older brother that my parents didn't want. He tried to kill me, but I end up killing him instead. It sounds like the plot of some really bad soap opera.

Natsu and I are happy being together right now. Mira winks every time she sees us together and mouths 'I told you so.' I think Juvia likes me more now, since she knows a little better that I'm not going after Gray.

And Umidjon is there for everything, sitting in the hollow of my neck. He'll always be with me now.

At the end of the day, I really am grateful for my new friends and family in Magnolia.

I really love Fairy Tail.

The

End


	15. Final Author's Note

Ok, it's time for a super long author's note!

To start off, I just want to really thank all of you for taking time to read, PM, and/or review this story! This is my first time writing something other people can read, so I'm so happy that you guys liked it (at least, I hope you did)! It really means the world to me!

I'm already working on another NaLu story, so I'll be posting that soon, in case you want to read it. It'll kind of be a sequel, like Umidjon will probably be mentioned throughout the story, but it's not going to be based on what happened in this story exactly, if that makes any sense at all. Maybe you guys could add a review or PM me if you want me to upload the new story…? You don't have to though!

Also, if you ever want to talk, feel free to PM me. I always love meeting and talking to new people!

Wow, this is a lot shorter than I thought it would be. Thanks again! As I've learned from my new (hopefully) friend,

Ja nee everyone! (Goodbye!)

Dottie


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